The Art of Reciting Scripture

Inflection

We don’t speak all words evenly. Inflection is the adjustment of volume and pitch when speaking. This is the natural way that we speak. Why so much concern about presenting the recitation in one's natural voice and manner? Because of the honesty it conveys. History is filled with people who puffed themselves up in order to dazzle and be admired. They spoke with warbling voices and had bulging neck veins, grandiose gestures and melodramatic mannerisms. But they don’t seem honest. I was attracted to the gospel, to the faith, because, in the midst of beautiful Biblical passages that were full of hope and a higher calling, there were thieves, deceivers and adulterers—and I’m not just talking about the “bad guys.” That described some of the “good guys,” too! Somehow, contained in all that messiness, was the message’s purity. The gospel is a message for the sick, not for the perfect. There is no pretentiousness when the heroes are murderers, tramps, and back-stabbers! That is why a reciter, in order to be faithful to our faith, should deliver the recitation with an honest and sincere expression of the message. In our natural conversation, there is an ebb and flow of intensity and pace. You shouldn’t maintain a breakneck velocity and roaring volume for an entire recitation. On the other hand, you don’t want to be too soft and plodding. There needs to be a rhythm to your intensity, a rise and fall like occurs in many songs.

What Do I Do with My Hands?

If this is your question, then it means that you do not yet “own” the words. The passage is still external to you. You are still trying to “act” like someone. It’s only when you own the passage, when the words become part of your breath, that your body will become naturally involved in the communication.

We all use our bodies in normal conversation, some more than others, but all of us do it. So instead of diverting too much energy trying to control each body part, it’s better to know the passage so well that you just use your body as you normally would to convey the meaning of your recitation. Your hands, and every other expressive part of your body will help you to communicate.